Answer:
Gupta asked the waitress if she knew the girl who had been sitting over there. The waitress answered that she did not know her, but that she had noticed the girl had lunch there on Saturdays. Gupta then inquired if the girl didn't go there on any other day. The waitress replied she never saw the girl on other days.
Explanation:
When converting direct speech to reported speech, some simple steps can be very helpful:
- Use verbs such as "say", "tell", "ask", "inquire", "answer", "reply", "state", etc. to indicate the manner in which something was spoken.
- Change the pronouns according to the situation. For example, if it is a man speaking, the pronoun "I" can become "he".
- Change words that indicate time or location if necessary. For instance: here → there; today → that day; tomorrow → the next day; etc.
- Change the verb tenses to their respective pasts. For example: simple present → simple past; present perfect → past perfect; will → would.
An example:
- Mila said, "Why do you always call me when I'm busy? I'll talk to you tomorrow."
- Mila asked why he always called her when she was busy. Then she said she would call him the next day.
